Captain Richard Been Stannard, (21 August 1902 – 22 July 1977) was a British sailor, officer in the

Royal Naval Reserve The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original Ro ...

(RNR), and a recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

(VC), the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Stannard was awarded the first VC to the RNR in the Second World War.

Early life

In February 1912, when Stannard was ten, his father was lost at sea along with the steamer ''Mount Oswald'', of which he was captain. For the next five years Stannard studied at the Royal Naval Merchant School in

Wokingham, Berkshire Wokingham is a market town in Berkshire, England, west of London, southeast of Reading, north of Camberley and west of Bracknell. History Wokingham means 'Wocca's people's home'. Wocca was apparently a Saxon chieftain who may als ...

. He then entered the Merchant Service aged 15.

Victoria Cross

Stannard was 37 years old, and a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

in the

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the

(VC). From 28 April to 2 May 1940 at

Namsos ( sma, Nåavmesjenjaelmie) is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Namdalen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Namsos. Some of the villages in the municipality include Bangsund, Kl ...

, Norway, HMT ''Arab'' survived 31 bombing attacks in five days. On one occasion during this period Lieutenant Stannard and two of his crew tackled for two hours a fire on the jetty caused by a bomb igniting ammunition. Part of the jetty was saved, which proved invaluable at the subsequent evacuation. Later feats included the destruction of an enemy bomber whose pilot, thinking that he had HMT ''Arab'' at his mercy, ordered that she be steered into captivity. In the '' London Gazette'' of 5 December 1944, Stannard was mentioned in despatches for distinguished service while commanding HMS ''Peacock'' in the protection of convoys to North Russia in the face of attacks by U-boats.

Later life

Before and after the war Stannard settled in Essex before later emigrating to Australia. He died in Sydney on 22 July 1977. The local council erected a blue plaque to him on his former house in The Avenue,

Loughton Loughton () is a town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex. Part of the metropolitan and urban area of London, the town borders Chingford, Waltham Abbey, Theydon Bois, Chigwell and Buckhurst Hill, and is northeast of Chari ...

, Essex. In his birth town of

Blyth, Northumberland Blyth () is a town and civil parish in southeast Northumberland, England. It lies on the coast, to the south of the River Blyth and is approximately northeast of Newcastle upon Tyne. It has a population of about 37,000, as of 2011. The port o ...

a multi-use building has been given the name Richard Stannard House (1999).

References

External links

Trawlers lost in the Namsen Fjord
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stannard, Richard Been 1902 births 1977 deaths British Merchant Navy officers British World War II recipients of the Victoria Cross Companions of the Distinguished Service Order English emigrants to Australia People from Blyth, Northumberland People from Loughton Recipients of the War Cross with Sword (Norway) Royal Naval Reserve personnel Royal Navy officers of World War II Royal Navy recipients of the Victoria Cross